6

Peggy had spent a troubled night worrying about what Stanislaw had told her, and as Danuta didn’t seem to be heeding his warning too seriously, she decided she would take matters into her own hands. She left Beach View earlier than usual that Monday morning, and after dropping Daisy off at the factory crèche, she climbed the stairs up to Solly’s office.

‘Good morning, Madge,’ she said brightly. ‘How are you today?’

Madge looked up from her typing. ‘I’m fine, thanks, Peggy, but I’d tread carefully, if I were you; Solly’s like a bear with a sore head this morning.’

This didn’t bode well, for she’d known Solly since their schooldays and his volcanic rages were not something she wished to provoke. ‘Oh dear. What’s upset him now?’

Madge shrugged. ‘I have no idea, but Rachel’s with him, and from what I’ve overheard, it’s something to do with this hare-brained scheme of his to go to Poland.’

‘Thanks for the warning, Madge.’ She listened to the raised voices in Solly’s office, took a deep breath and tapped on the door.

‘What do you want?’ roared Solly.

‘It’s me, Peggy. I need to have a word with you.’

‘Then get in here and say your piece,’ he shouted.

Peggy had faced Solly’s rages before and knew they soon blew out like a summer storm, but they were still quite frightening, and so she steeled herself for the coming confrontation.

Solly was pacing the room, his cigar smoke forming a thick layer below the ceiling, while his wife, Rachel, opened the window. ‘I’m sorry to butt in like this,’ said Peggy. ‘But what I have to say is important.’

‘Then spit it out, woman,’ he snarled.

Rachel turned from the window and gave an exasperated shrug of her elegant shoulders. ‘I’m sorry, Peggy, but I don’t know what to do with him today,’ she said. ‘He won’t listen to a word I say, and if he goes on like this he’ll have a heart attack.’

‘Is this about the trip to Poland?’ Peggy asked.

‘Yes. And I hope you’ve come to try and persuade him out of it. It’s sheer madness, Peggy, but he refuses to see it. Perhaps he’ll listen to you.’

Peggy very much doubted it, for when Solly was in one of these moods he’d listen to no one.

‘I am here, you know,’ he rumbled. ‘And I’m quite capable of making my own damned decisions.’ He flung himself into his chair, making the springs groan beneath his weight. ‘Danuta and I have it all planned, and we’re going,’ he said, forcefully stubbing out the cigar in the ashtray.

‘Your doctor told you it would be madness to travel far in your condition,’ said Rachel with tightly held calm.

‘What does that meshugana know?’ he retorted.

‘He knows you’ve got high blood pressure which is putting a strain on your heart,’ Rachel retorted. ‘You pay him enough for his advice. It’s a shame you don’t take it.’

‘If I might just say something,’ interjected Peggy.